Technology Assessment and Development of Large Deployable Antennas

Rogers, Craig A.; Stutzman, W.L.; Campbell, T. G.; Hedgepeth, J. M.

doi:10.1061/(asce)0893-1321(1993)6:1(34)

Cited by 50 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…During the experiments, the grating was placed as close to the specimen as possible to improve the contrast of the fringe pattern. The out-of-plane displacement is given as to = g N / (tan ~ + tanlS), (3) where co is the out-of-plane displacement, N is the fringe order, g is the grating pitch, ~t is the angle of light incidence and [3 is the angle of observation (see Fig. 3).…”

Section: Determination Of the Inflated Shapementioning

confidence: 99%

Shape measurement and control of deployable membrane structures

Maji

Starnes

2000

Experimental Mechanics

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ABSTRACT--The shape inaccuracies of inflatable antennas and the potential shape control of the surface of those structures are investigated. Surface shape inaccuracies are due to geometric nonlinear deformation. Correcting the shape of these inflatables focused on the integration of piezopolymer actuators on the membranes. The out-of-plane displacements of a membrane structure were assessed with the shadow moira method. The experimentally measured shape of the structure confirmed the extent of deviation from the ideal optical surface, a paraboloid of revolution. Active control of the shape of the membrane was tested using a piezoelectric material, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). The deformation caused by actuation of the membrane structure was evaluated using electronic speckle pattern interferometry. An analytical solution was developed to verify the extent of shape correction that can be achieved by embedded PVDF actuators. It was confirmed that micron-level shape corrections are possible for future space-based sensors that use inflatable antennae technology.

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Section: Determination Of the Inflated Shapementioning

confidence: 99%

Shape measurement and control of deployable membrane structures

Maji

Starnes

2000

Experimental Mechanics

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“…Similar concepts for shell antennas were presented by Rogers et al (1993). This deployable antenna was furled by rolling the entire composite antenna dome into a cylindrical bundle.…”

Section: Implementation Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thin-Skin Deployable Mirrors for Remote Sensing Systems

Henson¹,

Wehlburg²,

Redmond³

et al. 2001

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Meeting the long term needs of the DOE nonproliferation mission as well as future space exploration initiatives requires the development of large aperture space based optical systems to achieve dramatic improvements in resolution and sensitivity. While many researchers are considering on-orbit assembly of rigid optical mirror segments to circumvent geometric limitations imposed by launch vehicles, their volumetric and weight constraints limit the aperture diameter to less than ~10 meters. Therefore, ultra large apertures will likely only be obtained using deployable thin-skin mirror technology. Ultra large deployable thin-skin mirrors may offer orders of magnitude improvement in resolution and sensitivity over what is achievable today, yet many technological barriers must be overcome to make this approach a viable alternative for future system designs. Of primary concern is the development of control methodologies for achieving and maintaining optical tolerances from a highly flexible surface. This report summarizes an initial research effort into the development of piezoelectric thin-skin mirrors. A thin-skin piezoelectric bimorph mirror will bend in response to an applied electric field and can therefore be deformed into desirable shapes using a scanning electron gun. Recent progress is described in the key areas of experimental testbed development, mirror figure sensing methods, electron gun excitation, and shape control algorithm development. Results show that although this field of research is in its infancy, many of the technological barriers to realization of a deployable mirror are surmountable. Continued research in this field is warranted on the basis of its potential for dramatically improving the resolution and sensitivity of future space based optical systems.4

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“…The combination of single degree of mobility and requirement of high structural stiffness without many latching devices means that it is ideal to adopt overconstrained linkages. Early examples of such structures include the variable geometry (VG) trusses [2], the tetrahedral truss [3], the Panctruss [4], and the mesh reflector [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Square Deployable Frames for Space Applications. Part 1: Theory

Chen

Zhang

2006

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G:

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The Bennett linkage is a three-dimensional 4R overconstrained mechanism consisting of four rigid links connected by revolute hinges whose axes of rotation are neither parallel nor concurrent. In general, it cannot be folded up compactly. This paper investigates the existence of alternative forms of the linkage in order to achieve the most compact folding and maximum expansion so that the linkage can be used as basic building blocks of large deployable structures for aerospace applications. This study has resulted in the creation of an effective deployable element based on the Bennett linkage. A simple method to build the Bennett linkage in its alternative form has been introduced and verified. The corresponding networks have been obtained following a layout similar to that the original Bennett linkage, which the authors discovered previously. This approach can also be extended to other types of overconstrained linkages so that they can be used for building large deployable assemblies as well.

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Technology Assessment and Development of Large Deployable Antennas

Cited by 50 publications

References 7 publications

Shape measurement and control of deployable membrane structures

Shape measurement and control of deployable membrane structures

Thin-Skin Deployable Mirrors for Remote Sensing Systems

Square Deployable Frames for Space Applications. Part 1: Theory

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